Before Anne Hathaway Was An Oscar Winner, She Was A Teen Doing Phone Commercials

Let’s for a second forget that Anne Hathaway took home the Oscar for ’Best Supporting Actress’ this weekend. Because her beginnings were just as humble as anyone else. By that we mean that she had to start in the biz just like anyone else. Only, Jezebel threw some light on that start in the form of a phone landline commercial. Anne was cast by Northlich, a Cincinnati marketing agency, while she was a teen for a commercial for the Cincinnati Bell Telephone which aired from the mid- to late- 90s. And it’s a positively scintillating advertisement. The picture you see above is Anne nervously facing her teen date — oh you know the guy, we’ve all dated that guy — at the end of the evening.

Is he going to get a kiss? We know he’d like to hope so, but “Jane” — Anne’s name in the commercial — lets her nerves get the better of her and shakes his hand instead.

DOOM! “Jane” knows she blew it the second she closed the door.

She runs up to her all-pink bedroom and calls her BFF and wails about how SHE SHOOK HIS HAND.

And then she calls MORE friends because she’s that mortified and thinks he’s never ever going to call her again.

But wait? What’s this? Cute guy is trying to call her. From his all-blue bedroom, because he’s a dude, natch. GET OFF THE PHONE, JANE. And just as we’re biting our nails, we’re told it’s all gravy, because these phones are so cool … you can actually leave a voicemail. Mind officially blown.

All is well in Jane’s world. Mom and daughter are relieved that she is part of the stereotypical world of dating and now they need to find a new dress. Way to go, phone company! You can totally see the beginnings of an Oscar winning actress right there.